Written Answers Monday 21 April 2008

Scottish Executive

Adoption

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many adoptions were carried out in each year since 1967, broken down by (a) age of those adopted and (b) local authority area.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is given in the following tables. The figures are compiled on the basis of year of registration rather than year of occurrence. A breakdown of this information by local authority area is not held centrally by the Scottish Executive.

  

 Year
 Age


 Under Six Months
 6-8 Months
 9-11 Months
 12-17 Months
 18-23 Months


 1967
 277
 713
 289
 184
 76


 1968
 308
 700
 327
 207
 65


 1969
 315
 700
 308
 222
 81


 1970
 244
 594
 274
 175
 78


 1971
 185
 583
 269
 154
 64


 1972
 195
 504
 208
 132
 63


 1973
 216
 520
 195
 134
 69


 1974
 167
 382
 171
 124
 44


 1975
 135
 370
 182
 78
 58


 1976
 102
 319
 164
 97
 32


 1977
 89
 327
 135
 87
 36


 1978
 84
 211
 102
 63
 20


 1979
 36
 188
 124
 55
 28


 1980
 70
 206
 101
 58
 32


 1981
 69
 178
 71
 53
 30


 1982
 91
 179
 60
 36
 24


 1983
 85
 151
 58
 38
 21


 1984
 70
 120
 39
 33
 16


 1985
 51
 92
 55
 42
 19


 1986
 56
 64
 43
 45
 22


 1987
 33
 62
 59
 54
 27


 1988
 35
 48
 49
 49
 20


 1989
 16
 55
 42
 60
 23


 1990
 21
 42
 49
 34
 15


 1991
 9
 54
 38
 39
 19


 1992
 4
 41
 26
 36
 50


 1993
 10
 31
 31
 29
 17


 1994
 3
 32
 26
 23
 13


 1995
 1
 22
 17
 26
 18


 1996
 2
 19
 28
 19
 12


 1997
 -
 14
 12
 20
 16


 1998
 1
 8
 7
 16
 14


 1999
 4
 12
 18
 20
 11


 2000
 1
 7
 16
 16
 23


 2001
 1
 5
 12
 24
 20


 2002
 1
 3
 9
 19
 10


 2003
 3
 7
 15
 20
 19


 2004
 4
 5
 12
 33
 15


 2005
 1
 7
 10
 25
 26


 2006
 3
 4
 9
 20
 22



  

 Year
 Age


 2 Years
 3-4 Years
 5-9 Years
 10-14 Years
 15 Years and Over
 Not Specified


 1967
 96
 152
 211
 88
 76
 -


 1968
 76
 160
 199
 79
 53
 -


 1969
 110
 159
 265
 86
 43
 -


 1970
 120
 164
 272
 102
 34
 -


 1971
 90
 193
 272
 70
 23
 1


 1972
 74
 152
 247
 85
 32
 -


 1973
 84
 228
 346
 106
 28
 -


 1974
 89
 206
 326
 135
 35
 -


 1975
 81
 222
 367
 179
 34
 -


 1976
 80
 205
 408
 189
 45
 -


 1977
 79
 193
 425
 202
 60
 -


 1978
 46
 176
 367
 254
 55
 -


 1979
 58
 149
 280
 181
 59
 -


 1980
 49
 135
 434
 261
 66
 -


 1981
 36
 99
 316
 224
 54
 -


 1982
 46
 144
 343
 236
 63
 -


 1983
 43
 126
 324
 246
 80
 -


 1984
 39
 104
 281
 220
 61
 -


 1985
 37
 98
 268
 205
 82
 -


 1986
 31
 120
 350
 266
 78
 -


 1987
 62
 123
 322
 223
 88
 -


 1988
 42
 99
 283
 171
 72
 -


 1989
 31
 103
 262
 196
 62
 1


 1990
 59
 129
 276
 150
 41
 5


 1991
 51
 112
 288
 159
 48
 -


 1992
 41
 128
 308
 151
 38
 -


 1993
 49
 108
 312
 186
 38
 -


 1994
 31
 97
 257
 159
 22
 2


 1995
 27
 114
 232
 145
 33
 -


 1996
 28
 72
 231
 146
 28
 -


 1997
 29
 72
 192
 88
 28
 -


 1998
 23
 73
 198
 128
 22
 -


 1999
 36
 68
 176
 117
 27
 -


 2000
 26
 75
 123
 85
 19
 -


 2001
 50
 82
 161
 92
 21
 -


 2002
 49
 65
 130
 73
 26
 -


 2003
 39
 75
 170
 88
 32
 -


 2004
 33
 63
 143
 67
 18
 -


 2005
 37
 74
 155
 81
 23
 -


 2006
 40
 71
 150
 73
 26
 -

Children in Care

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action they are taking to provide more semi-independent living units for young people leaving care.

Adam Ingram: This is a matter for local authorities. They should ensure that they have a range of suitable accommodation to meet the needs of their young people leaving care. Guidance on the Regulations on Supporting Young People Leaving Care makes clear that while there is no one model of accommodation provision, supported lodgings, shared accommodation and independent tenancies should be available for young people. Accommodation and support services should be flexible and focus on the individual needs of the young person.

Children in Care

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether they have made any assessment of the extent of the shortfall of supported and semi-independent living units for young care leavers.

Adam Ingram: No. Local authorities have a responsibility to undertake Pathways assessments and planning with eligible young people prior to leaving care which should set out what kind of accommodation best meets the needs of the young person and how this is to be obtained.

Children's Services

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10537 by Adam Ingram on 13 March 2008, whether that answer indicates that it (a) does not intend to introduce legislation to make it a duty for all agencies to co-operate and share information as happened in England under the Children Act 2004 or (b) has not yet concluded whether it is right to do so.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10537 on 13 March 2008. The implementation of Getting it Right for Every Child is continuing through pathfinding activity and in partnership with agencies, who are starting to test how readily they can put Getting it Right for Every Child into practice. If this suggests that legislation would help remove barriers to applying the getting it right approach fully, this would be considered at some future point.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Disabled People

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, following the publication of the COSLA Guide to Legislation and Guidance Paper, Disability Equality and Scottish Local Authorities: Access to Services, when implementing the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Stewart Maxwell: The research report Disability Equality and Scottish Local Authorities: Access to Services , was published in July 2005, prior to the introduction of the public sector duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, which came into force in December 2006. The report was focussed on local authorities and neither the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat Executive nor the Scottish Government has taken any action specifically in response. However, the public sector duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people will help local authorities to address the issues raised in the report. A range of guidance documents produced by the Disability Rights Commission is available to assist public bodies to deliver the duty, including guidance specifically written for local authorities.

Domestic Abuse

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to tackle domestic violence among ethnic minority communities.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse and ensuring that all those affected by it are given the support they need and those perpetrating it are dealt with effectively.

  The National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland recognised the need to take account of the differing needs of women and children from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, to ensure any provision is relevant and appropriate to them. Additional difficulties, for example, of racism, language, isolation or stigma may also be present and need to be addressed by service providers.

  More than £44 million has been committed over the next three years to support organisations working with women and children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse or other aspects of violence against women. Included within this figure is support for a number of projects working specifically to address the complex needs of BME women and children experiencing domestic abuse, at both a local and national level.

  For example, over the next three years, funding of £270,293 has been awarded to Amina to provide support to BME women experiencing domestic abuse and increase Muslim women’s understanding and knowledge of domestic abuse. Funding of £204,612.71 has been granted to Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid to enable them to provide temporary refuge accommodation to BME women and their children escaping domestic abuse. Hemat Gryffe also operate a drop in centre which BME women can use to seek support, advocacy and information on forced marriage, the two year immigration rule, and welfare rights among other issues. Shakti Women’s Aid has also been awarded £258,245 to provide the same type service as Hemat Gryffe in Edinburgh and the surrounding area.

  The national Rape Crisis Helpline uses services such as the language line to ensure that support can be provided to women in their own language. Work is also on-going with the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline to recruit, train and support volunteers from all BME communities.

Enterprise

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the contribution that the planned development of the Ravenscraig site will make to the Scottish Government's stated strategic objectives.

Jim Mather: The redevelopment of the Ravenscraig site supports all the Scottish Government’s strategic objectives, economic and social. For example, it is expected to create a range of flexible accommodation for a diverse range of local businesses, generate 12,000 new jobs and attract some £1.2 billion of private sector investment over the life of the project. The project should also deliver a £70 million state of the art campus for Motherwell College, with conference facilities and a public learning centre. It is expected to provide 446 training places and some 400 vocational qualifications as well as a £30 million regional sports facility, cycle routes and adventure playgrounds, and retail and leisure space.

  The project is also expected to create some 3,500 new homes and become home to a new urban community of around 10,000 people. It will also embrace the principles of sustainable development in the creation of new natural habitats, renewable energy and good public transport links.

Fatal Accident Inquiries

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to introduce legislation to enable inquiries into deaths of Scottish service personnel overseas to be held in Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: Discussions are still continuing with Whitehall departments in efforts to find a solution to this problem. A letter emphasising the need to make progress with this issue was sent to the Secretary of State for Defence on 25 March.

  The chief complication is that the subject-matter of inquiries into military deaths is reserved. The Scottish Parliament at present cannot legislate only for military deaths because that would cut across the defence reservation in the Scotland Act 1998.

  Ministers are acutely aware of the sensitivity of this subject and will continue to explore with the UK Government how the investigations and inquiries into the deaths of Scottish-based service personnel can be dealt with in a way which minimises the additional distress for bereaved families caused by them having to travel to the south of England for inquest hearings.

  There are, however, difficult legal and policy issues which have to be resolved and which will take time to work through. They are likely to require changes in the law on both sides of the border.

Fisheries

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Glasgow Housing Association charge a commission or administration fee in respect of house owners’ insurance.

Stewart Maxwell: I have asked Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond. Her response is as follows:

  "Glasgow Housing Association formed GHA (Management) Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary in December 2003 to provide factoring services on their behalf to owners. Owners factored by GHA are obliged, through their Deed of Conditions, to take up the buildings insurance provided by the factor. GHA (Management) Ltd charge factored owners an administration fee on top of the cost of home insurance."

Fisheries

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of government schemes that exist in France and Spain to support their fishing industries to cope with the impact of high marine fuel prices.

Richard Lochhead: I met with Commissioner Borg in mid-March and discussed fuel issues with him. I am clear that there must be a level playing field across Europe – a point I made in our meeting and will continue to make in Brussels.

  The Commissioner said that he was aware of the Spanish and French aid schemes. His Services have looked at the information which is in the public domain and it would seem that the Spanish scheme falls under the de minimis provisions. In such cases, there is no obligation on the member state to notify the Commission. His Services are still assessing the aid notified by France.

  I refer the member to answer to question S3W-11482 on 10 April 2008, I have commissioned a report on the trends in fuel prices and the implications this has for our fleets – material which I will share with the industry as I review the potential options available to mitigate the increased cost. Once we have a better understanding of these potential options, I have agreed with Commissioner Borg that our officials will meet to evaluate them against state aid rules. I have already committed, for instance, that provided it is compatible with state aid rules, the Scottish Government will extend our payment of the installation warranty cover of tamper resistant vessel monitoring systems for a further three years.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the foot-and-mouth disease aid package has been paid to date, broken down by the (i) £19 million allocated to the ewe scheme, (b) £6 million allocated to the light lamb scheme, (c) £1 million allocated to Quality Meat Scotland, (d) £250,000 allocated to RSABI and (v) £60,000 allocated to the Royal Highland Education Trust.

Richard Lochhead: The total amount that has been paid to date is £23.09 million. This can be broken down as follows:

  

 Name
Amount 
(£ Million)


 Scottish Ewe Scheme
 18.80


 Sheep Welfare Scheme
 3.70


 Quality Meat Scotland (for long term resilience of sector) 
 0.33


 RSABI
 0.20


 RHET
 0.06


 Total
 23.09

Forced Marriages

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to address the issue of forced marriage.

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of forced marriages have been reported since 2000.

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to criminalise forced marriages.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is committed to addressing forced marriage and in 2005 the previous administration along with the UK Government undertook a consultation on whether forced marriage should be criminalised. The majority of respondents felt that creating specific criminal legislation would not be the most effective way of tackling this very serious issue.

  Many reasons were given for this, including the potentially negative impact of legislation on victims; concern that children could be hidden overseas to escape the law, and that crimes would be difficult to define. But the biggest concern was over racial segregation and that this might be seen as a minority law.

  However, we are going to consult on whether civil legislation should be introduced to protect those who may be affected. This consultation will link with the work currently underway within communities to raise awareness of forced marriage.

  Members of the Forced Marriage Network are key to this activity and the network will reconvene in the next few months to further develop the Scottish Government’s work in this area.

  It is not known how many cases of forced marriage have been reported in Scotland, as this information is not collected centrally. However, from January 2008 the Forced Marriage Unit has started to collect information, on a regional basis, on the number of enquiries they have received. To date eight enquiries from Scotland have been received.

Futures Project

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the practical outcomes have been of the Futures Project since its establishment.

John Swinney: The Futures Project has realised its intended outcomes. The outputs (data and analysis) and approaches from this kind of long-term thinking continue to influence policy-making, including for example the 2007 budget, and we continue to build the working relationship between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament Futures Forum to develop a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities that will face Scotland in the future.

Homelessness

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it remains committed to the 2012 homelessness target set by the previous administration.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government remains committed to the target as incorporated in the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003.

Homelessness

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has committed to achieving the 2012 homelessness target for each of the next three years of its budget.

Stewart Maxwell: A wide range of actions is required to meet the 2012 target and it is for each local authority to decide the most effective methods of achieving the target in their area. It is also the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities. Central government funding formerly ring-fenced for homelessness services has been absorbed into the main local government settlement for 2008-11 and local authorities and their partners can access a wide range of resources in order to progress towards the target.

Homelessness

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that a nationally set target for eradicating homelessness is achievable without ring fencing of resources to local authorities.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government remains committed to the legislative target to abolish the distinction between homeless households currently assessed as having a priority need for accommodation and other homeless households by 2012. Removal of ring-fencing allows local authorities to use their total funding flexibly in order to move towards the target and has been widely welcomed by local authorities.

Homelessness

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include a target for eradicating homelessness in each local outcome agreement and, if so, how it will establish such targets.

Stewart Maxwell: The national performance framework includes an indicator relating to the entitlement of homeless households to settled accommodation by 2012. The Scottish Government will monitor and publish national performance against all indicators in the framework. The HL1 homelessness statistics system provides information on performance against this indicator at national and local authority levels. The indicator is available for use within the single outcome agreements which are currently being developed by local authorities and the Scottish Government. Local authorities also continue to work towards the 2009 interim targets set out in the ministerial statement on the abolition of priority need published in December 2005.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated to the Mortgage to Rent scheme in 2007-08.

Stewart Maxwell: The total budget allocated to the Mortgage to Rent scheme at the start of 2007-08 was £10 million. The out-turn expenditure figure will be published in due course.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it plans to allocate to the Mortgage to Rent scheme in 2008-09.

Stewart Maxwell: Funding for the Mortgage to Rent scheme comes from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme budget. I will announce the allocation of resources under that programme shortly.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many housing developments initiated since May 2007 there has been agreement that 25% of the total number of units will be for affordable housing.

Stewart Maxwell: This information is not currently held for the time period requested. The Scottish Government has issued a new annual statistical data collection to monitor the impact of planning policy on the supply of affordable housing. The return identifies planning applications (that contain some form of affordable housing provision) that were granted planning consent during the 2005 to 2007 financial years. The official results of this survey will be published on the 29 April 2008. Planning authorities will shortly be issued with the survey for the 2007-08 financial year, with results from this expected before the end of 2008.

Justice

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people coming before Scottish courts in the last 10 years were first-time offenders.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information on the proportion of individual offenders with a charge proved and with no previous convictions is given in the following publications:

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2001 in table 15 (under the "Total" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 39. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2002.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2002 in table 14 (under the "Total" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 36. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2004.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2003 in table 14 (under the "Total" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 36. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2005.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2004-5 in table 14 (under the "Total" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 37. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2006.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2005-6 in table 14 (under the "Total" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 39. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2007.

  Copies of which are available are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 25720, 31304, 36012, 39481, 42387 respectively).

Justice

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners currently receiving a custodial sentence are first time offenders, compared with those in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information on individual offenders receiving a custodial sentence and with no previous convictions is given in the following publications:

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2001 in table 15 (under the "Custody" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 39. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2002.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2002 in table 14 (under the "Custody" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 36. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2004.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2003 in table 14 (under the "Custody" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 36. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2005.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2004-5 in table 14 (under the "Custody" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 37. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2006.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2005-6 in table 14 (under the "Custody" column for "All previous convictions" = "None"), on page 39. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2007.

  Copies of which are available are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 25720, 31304, 36012, 39481, 42387 respectively).

Justice

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was available from seized assets in 2007-08.

Kenny MacAskill: For 2007-08 the Scottish Government had £8.031 million available from the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all Reliance staff have received enhanced disclosure checks.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Prisoner Escort and Court Custody contract requires that Reliance staff are cleared by Disclosure Scotland at standard or basic level. However Reliance decided at the start of the contract that all potential staff would be cleared by Disclosure Scotland at the enhanced level.

  Reliance has confirmed that this remains their policy.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial penalties are for breach of performance thresholds in the contract for prisoner escort duties with Reliance.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Prisoner Escort and Court Custody contract is published in full on the SPS website at www.sps.gov.uk. Schedule 2 gives information in relation to the financial penalties applied for performance failures. The financial penalties (service credits) are subject to annual increases.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial value is of the contract awarded to Reliance for escorting children to and from court.

Kenny MacAskill: The terms of the contract provide for payment each time the service is used. This is estimated at £128,913 per annum.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many other service providers bid for the contract awarded to Reliance for escorting children to and from court, stating the names of such companies.

Kenny MacAskill: Stepdown and Blade Security Services Ltd also bid for the contract.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any commercial confidentiality clauses written in to Reliance’s contract for escorting children to and from court.

Kenny MacAskill: The contract contains the standard confidentiality requirements covered by the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989 and a requirement not to disclose any information of a confidential nature obtained through the contract.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Reliance staff have undertaken specific training to deal with vulnerable young people ahead of being awarded the contract for escorting children to and from court.

Kenny MacAskill: Yes. Relevant staff undertook a comprehensive training package.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations the contract with Reliance for escorting children to and from court has in respect of staff numbers and training.

Kenny MacAskill: The contract provides that there will be two members of staff escorting each child excluding the driver.

  The contract provides that in addition to the standard training undertaken by all escort staff, child escort officers will receive additional training on child protection awareness and therapeutic crisis intervention.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what options the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has to terminate contracts with Reliance following breaches of security.

Kenny MacAskill: The contract for escorting sentenced children provides that the Scottish Government can terminate the contract under any circumstances by giving Reliance Secure Task Management not less than 30 days notice.

  A copy of the contract for carrying out adult prisoner escorts in Scotland is published on the Scottish Prison Service Website at:

  http://www.sps.gov.uk//Default.aspx?DocumentID=24887896-f880-4764-8fa5-c529c7612e97.

Livestock

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it has made to deal with the possibility of a bluetongue outbreak in Scotland.

Richard Lochhead: The plans in place for dealing with bluetongue, should it arrive in Scotland, were described previously in the answer to question S3W-4395 on 16 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The main focus of the immediate response would be to declare a 20km radius Control Zone around the infected premises, along with a minimum 100km radius Protection Zone and a Surveillance Zone extending 50km beyond this, and to introduce movement restrictions within these zones. Movement of animals within or out of these zones would only be permitted in certain circumstances and under licence with certain compulsory precautions, e.g. testing for disease or the use of insecticides.

  In addition, the Scottish Government has initiated tender procedures aimed at securing up to 12 million doses of inactivated bluetongue vaccine for the Scottish livestock industry. It has been agreed with stakeholders that this vaccine would be best used next winter when it is hoped that animals can be vaccinated before disease reaches Scotland, though this is subject to disease developments.

  The priority continues to be to keep bluetongue out of Scotland. The most important protection for Scotland continues to be by farmers on the ground being careful of where they source their livestock, being vigilant for signs of the disease and reporting any suspicions promptly.

Livestock

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vaccines it has bought to address the possibility of an outbreak of the bluetongue virus in Scotland.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is currently leading a procurement process to secure up to 12 million doses of vaccine.

Local Authorities

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to protect disabled groups in Aberdeen whose funding will be reduced or lost as a result of local authority proposals.

Stewart Maxwell: Aberdeen spent almost £50 million more than it had budgeted for during 2002-07. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth is due to meet the leader and deputy leader of the council on Wednesday 23 April 2008 to discuss Aberdeen’s financial position.

  In the short term we are working with the council and the third sector to put in place new arrangements which will provide sustainable opportunities for those with learning disabilities in Aberdeen. The Minister for Enterprise announced on 16 April 2008 that the Aye Can project in Aberdeen will move to operate in the third sector under these new arrangements. We expect others to make that transition once their business plans have been examined. In the medium term we will await the outcome of the Account’s Commission’s public hearing which is scheduled to start on 13 May 2008. In the longer term, we are already committed to a review of the local government finance funding formula in time for the next three year settlement in 2011-12.

Parenting

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many parenting orders have been issued under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Adam Ingram: There have been no parenting orders to date.

  A parenting order should only be considered where a parent has been offered help and support on a voluntary basis and has refused to engage with this support. It is for the professionals working with families to decide what approach will best change the parent's behaviour in respect of the child’s needs or risks.

Prison Service

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners currently in custody have committed a serious offence.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The most recent day for which a representative figure for the prison population can be released publicly is 12 December 2007. The population on this date was 7,362. Of these 2,533 were held in custody for non-sexual crimes of violence and 413 for crimes of indecency.

  The following table gives a detailed breakdown of these categories.

  

 Main Crime/Offence
 Remand
 Sentenced
 Total


 Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence
 Homicide
 58
 820
 878


 Serious Assault etc
 186
 950
 1136


 Robbery
 67
 371
 438


 Other Violence
 18
 63
 81


 Crimes of Indecency
 Rape & Attempted Rape
 19
 175
 194


 Indecent Assault
 1
 37
 38


 Lewd & Lib Practice
 12
 101
 113


 Other Indecency
 5
 63
 68

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison places there (a) were on 3 May 2007 and (b) are currently, broken down by gender.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table shows the design capacity of the SPS for male and female prisoner places in May 2007 and April 2008.

  

 Month/Year
 Gender
 Design Capacity


 4 May 2007
 Male
 6,168


 
 Female
 375


 11 April 2008
 Male
 6,251


 
 Female
 375

Procurement

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken, or intends to take, to encourage more small and medium-sized enterprises to tender for public sector contracts.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has held extensive discussions with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) representatives including Scottish Chambers of Commerce, CBI Scotland and the Federation of Small Businesses. These discussions have led to the introduction of a number of measures to help SMEs gain access to more business opportunities from the public sector. These include a Suppliers Charter, National Advertising Portal and the Single Point of Enquiry. At the end of December 2007, Scottish Procurement Directorate were involved in launching the "Tendering for Public Contracts" document designed as a short guide to help SMEs participate in public sector procurement.

Procurement

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to ensure that greater use of shared public services does not preclude small and medium-sized enterprises from successfully tendering for public sector contracts.

John Swinney: Shared public services projects do not necessarily mean larger contracts nor the automatic exclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It will be for individual projects to consider the possible impact on suppliers

Procurement

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines "small" and "medium" sized enterprises as part of the public procurement process and whether it has any intention to change these definitions.

John Swinney: For consistency with other parts of the Scottish Government in calculating spend, the Scottish Procurement Directorate defines businesses on number of staff:

  Small business - less than 50 staff.

  Small and medium-sized enterprises - less than 250 staff.

  The Federation of Small Businesses has agreed that numbers of staff should be used to define organisations in terms of small and medium-sized enterprises, where numbers of staff are not available, financial data should be used. There are no plans at present to change these definitions.

Procurement

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities and other public sector bodies to encourage greater use of local businesses for public sector contracts.

John Swinney: There is guidance available on working with small and medium-sized enterprises available on the Scottish Government website.

  The Scottish Public Procurement Toolkit provides Best Practice detailed guidance on procurement for the public sector. It gives emphasis to market factors in public procurement and has been adopted by all the procurement centres of expertise. EU law prohibits discrimination on grounds of locality or nationality and it is not possible to give preference to suppliers on grounds that they are locally based.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on implementing the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and when it anticipates the act will come into force.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government is taking forward a comprehensive implementation programme to deliver the provisions of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. This includes developing information flows with partners, preparing guidance and training, developing the infrastructure for the new scheme and the IT systems that will support it and ensuring that the Scottish scheme works in tandem with the scheme being developed for other parts of the UK. We are currently analysing stakeholders’ responses to the wide ranging consultation on related policy issues which closed on 12 February 2008. Some of these will have an impact on the date at which the scheme commences so we are not yet in a position to confirm when this will be. We will ensure that there is plenty of notice of that date to allow organisations time to prepare.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007, what progress has been made in establishing a central barring unit.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government is taking forward a comprehensive implementation programme to deliver the provisions of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. This includes delineating the determination criteria for inclusion on the barred lists and establishing the Central Barring Unit which will make decisions about listing. The functions of Disclosure Scotland will be expanded to incorporate the new Central Barring Unit so that a coherent, efficient end to end service is provided to users.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the number of potential applicants to the Rural Developments Contracts – Rural Priorities programme who do not have effective access to the internet as a result of (a) broadband connection not being available or (b) any other reason and what the results were of any such assessment.

Richard Lochhead: Applicants to the Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities can apply online from home where they have internet access or using facilities provided for community use, for example, in public libraries.

  We recognise that online submission and associated guidance may provide challenges for a limited number of those wishing to apply for funding under Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities. The SRDP Implementation Team have taken action to assess the scope and nature of any barriers to access and are putting in place measures to provide appropriate assistance to overcome these.

  Due to the number and range of options available (156 from new entrants, village halls, forestry biodiversity and renewable energy) and the focus on regional priorities (local solutions for national outcomes) a manual system would be unmanageable for applicants who with the online system can quickly and easily focus on the elements which are pertinent to their business.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that limiting applications to the Rural Developments Contracts – Rural Priorities programme to those made online complies with all Scottish and UK equal rights and human rights legislation.

Richard Lochhead: We believe that we are complying with the Equality and Human Rights legislation and that we have not been discriminatory in introducing online delivery of Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities (RDC RP).

  Due to the number and range of options available (156 from new entrants, village halls, to forestry biodiversity and renewable energy) and the focus on regional priorities (local solutions for national outcomes) a manual system would be unmanageable for applicants who with the online system can quickly and easily focus on the elements which are pertinent to their business.

Scottish Government Funding

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was allocated to West Dunbartonshire from the Fairer Scotland Fund in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 and how much will be allocated in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11, also showing the real-terms annual percentage changes.

Stewart Maxwell: The Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was introduced on 1 April 2008, and replaced seven previous funding streams. This was, in part, in response to a recommendation by the previous administration’s Finance Committee to simplify and better co-ordinate funding streams aimed at tackling poverty and deprivation. The member was of course Convenor of the Finance Committee at that time.

  For the amounts allocated to each local authority area under each of these funding streams I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8601 on 13 February, 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Allocations of the FSF were based on an assessment of need. The FSF is allocated on a transparent, objective methodology, using the most up-to-date evidence available from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2006. A similar method of allocation was used in the past to distribute the funding streams the FSF has replaced.

  The FSF is ring-fenced within the Local Government Settlement (LGS) in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In 2008-09 West Dunbartonshire’s allocation will be £5.946 million and in 2009-10 £5.507 million. In 2010-11 the FSF will be rolled up into the LGS. It will be the responsibility of each local authority to allocate funds on the basis of national priorities and local needs. Using the latest GDP Deflator tables, the annual percentage change in real terms between 2008-09 and 2009-10 is -10%.

Sport

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many diving pools meeting the standards for international competition there will be in Scotland when the Royal Commonwealth Pool is closed for refurbishment.

Stewart Maxwell: Following the temporary closure of the Royal Commonwealth Pool for refurbishment, there will be no diving pools in Scotland that meet standards for international competition.

  However, there are a number of diving facilities across Scotland suitable for training purposes.

Sport

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which diving pool meeting the standards for international competition will be the nearest available to people living in the east central belt of Scotland when the Royal Commonwealth Pool is closed for refurbishment.

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which diving pool meeting the standards for international competition will be the nearest available to people living in the west central belt of Scotland when the Royal Commonwealth Pool is closed for refurbishment.

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which diving pool meeting the standards for international competition will be the nearest available to people living in Aberdeen when the Royal Commonwealth Pool is closed for refurbishment.

Stewart Maxwell: The nearest diving pool which meets the standards for international competition is the Sunderland Aquatic Centre.

  However, there are a number of diving facilities across Scotland suitable for training purposes.

Swimming Pools

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when free access for children at council swimming pools will be introduced.

Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-6557 on 3 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Teachers

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly qualified teachers were granted accelerated progress on the salary scale in accordance with section 14 of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers’ Circular SNCT/35 in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Maureen Watt: This information is not collated centrally. It is a matter for local authority employers to determine relevant salary levels on an individual basis in line with the guidance provided by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. This is now contained in the handbook of conditions of service part 2, section 1.8 to 1.23.

Young Offenders

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff of St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, have been off work through illness or injury in each month of the last year.

Adam Ingram: This is an operational matter for St Mary’s Kenmure Secure Unit. The Scottish Government does not collect this information.